Tag: 3BL

The City of Norman & BioStar Renewables achieved interconnection in 2023 and is producing renewable electricity that is serving the Vernon Campbell Water Treatment Plant and Water Reclamation Facility in Norman, Oklahoma. The 2.27 MW solar project is expected to produce more than 3,000,000 kWh of electricity each year and will displace over 2,126 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per year, the equivalent of providing 438 homes with electricity or 271,000 gallons of gasoline consumed for an entire year. The clean energy generated by the solar arrays will reduce the annual kWh required from the local utility company by approximately 30%.

BioStar developed the project, and provided the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, as well as ongoing operations and maintenance (O&M) services. Implementation of these solar arrays will set the city on a path toward achieving their Net-Zero Carbon goal across city buildings, and marks the beginning of a transition to more balanced energy mixture.

BioStar is working with municipalities across the USA to develop, implement, and maintain renewable energy projects that reduce reliance on the local utility, increase resilience in facility operations, save money, and achieve greenhouse gas emissions goals. If your municipality is considering adopting renewable energy assets, BioStar can help!

Click here for information about this project.

If you are interested in learning more about how BioStar can help you meet your sustainability goals, contact our Chief Commercial Officer, David Smart.

EMERYVILLE, Calif., February 26, 2025 /3BL/ – SCS Global Services is proud to announce its new role as a certification body (CB) for the 2BS (Biomass, Biofuel Sustainability) Certification standard, an essential initiative dedicated to evaluating and verifying the sustainability in the supply chain of biofuels, biomass and biomethane, in compliance with the criteria set by the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED II).

The expansion of 2BS certification coincides with the European Commission’s January 2025 recognition of the 2BS certification’s co-processing procedures, enabling companies to combine renewable materials with traditional fossil-based materials in a process that complies with the RED II directives.

2BS has two distinct sustainability certification schemes against which SCS is approved to audit and certify global companies: 2BSvs, under the RED II, and 2BSXtra, for Food and Feed. The 2BSvs scheme covers agricultural biomass, wastes and residues, materials and renewable energies and covers the entire process from the collection of biomass and other inputs and right up to the processing and production of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels. The 2BSXtra scheme certifies processed and raw agricultural materials intended for human and animal consumption, focusing on producers that aim to use lower carbon feedstocks.

“We are pleased to offer both 2BS Certifications,” said Erika Bartolomei, SCS Program Manager. “Our team is fully equipped to assess every step of the certification process, from sourcing raw materials to final product processing. Leveraging our expertise, we aim to drive responsible practices and help clients verify compliance with the 2BS certification program efficiently and effectively, worldwide.”

Caroline Aba, Commercial Manager, of 2BS adds, “We are delighted to welcome SCS Global Services as the eighth recognized certification body for this important scheme. SCS’s expertise, commitment to sustainability and years of experience in biofuels will be invaluable in ensuring compliance with the certification’s standards.”

About SCS Global Services

SCS Global Services is a global leader in third-party environmental and sustainability verification, certification, auditing, testing, and standards development, currently celebrating its 40th year of services. Its programs span a cross-section of industries, recognizing achievements in climate mitigation, green building, product manufacturing, food and agriculture, forestry, consumer products, and more. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, SCS has representatives and affiliate offices throughout the Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Africa. Its broad network of auditors are experts in their fields, and the company is a trusted partner to companies, agencies, and advocacy organizations due to its dedication to quality and professionalism. SCS is a California-chartered Benefit Corporation, reflecting its commitment to socially and environmentally responsible business practices.

For more information, visit https://www.scsglobalservices.com/services/2bs-certification.

Media Contact

Berliot Bolaños
Sales & Marketing Director, EBC
bbolanos@scsglobalservices.com

Direct Relief has been awarded the 2025 Seoul Peace Prize for its longstanding humanitarian work in delivering medical resources to advance global health and aid communities impacted by disasters and conflicts, the prize committee announced Tuesday, February 18, 2025.

The Seoul Peace Prize, established to commemorate the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, honors individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to world peace and cooperation. The selection process involves approximately 1,300 nominators from South Korea and around the world, including internationally renowned figures from various fields.

“By promptly and efficiently delivering medical supplies, Direct Relief has not only protected lives and ensured psychological stability, but has also instilled hope for a new beginning,” the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation said. “It has demonstrated humanitarianism and made a significant contribution to the advancement of human welfare.”

The Seoul Peace Prize has been awarded every other year since 1990. As the 17th recipient of the prize, Direct Relief joins a distinguished group of laureates including former Czech President and human rights champion Václav Havel, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, renowned economist Muhammad Yunus, and Doctors Without Borders.

“Direct Relief is deeply honored to receive the Seoul Peace Prize,” said Dr. Byron Scott, CEO of Direct Relief. “This recognition affirms our belief that public health is a requirement for societal health. When communities have access to healthcare, they build resilience against the destabilizing forces of disasters, conflict, and poverty.”

Direct Relief is a humanitarian aid organization with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies – without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay.

From its beginnings in 1948—when Estonian immigrant William Zimdin started sending food, clothing, and medicine to post-war Europe—Direct Relief has upheld one defining principle: every individual deserves high-quality health care, no matter their circumstance.

Over the past seven-plus decades, that commitment has guided the organization to become one of the world’s largest humanitarian nonprofits, delivering over $16 billion in medical aid and $350 million in grants to 136 countries and all 50 U.S. states since year 2000.

Mastercard

Most entrepreneurs dream of tapping into the kind of capital, industry connections and sophisticated software that Martin Naor has at his fingertips.

The Uruguayan entrepreneur has certainly benefitted from a full career that took him from managing products and businesses for Microsoft to sitting on company boards, investing in startups and running the Montevideo-based tech firm Infocorp.

Yet launching a new business is always a twisty road, and Naor had his share of unforeseen curves when he started his fintech Bankingly a decade ago.

Bankingly was born from a flash insight. Naor noticed that while major banks were proactively building tech solutions to drive their digital transformation, smaller institutions were struggling to migrate online.

He also understood how transformative digital banking could be for people living Latin America, where one in five adults are still unbanked and many of those who are still spend hours travelling to their bank branch.

So he created a venture to provide smaller banks and credit unions from Argentina to Mexico — and more recently, Kenya and Nigeria — with the software they need to offer digital banking services.

“Everybody wants to sell to the big boys,” says Naor, 53. “We decided the big blue ocean of opportunity was on small and medium-sized financial institutions in emerging markets.”

Rather than start from scratch, he launched Bankingly as a Infocorp spin-off so he could piggyback off the company’s products and experiences and reach the market quickly with a segment-friendly offering of low start-up costs and per-usage charges. 

What he did not foresee was the hesitancy. Back in 2015, many of the smaller banks Naor approached saw little reason to start offering online banking to their customers. They preferred relying solely on tried-and-tested traditional branch banking.

“They were less anxious to digitalize than we expected. My naïve starting point was that if I put an affordable, scalable solution in front of them, they’ll jump at it,” he admits.

He quickly realized he needed to tweak Bankingly’s business model and spend its capital wisely so he could take the time to show banks and credit unions the benefits of digitalization, plus convince regulators its cloud-based systems were secure.

Despite the slow start, financial institutions who started using Bankingly’s apps and platforms soon saw their customers were more likely to deposit their salaries, build up savings and increase their card transactions.

Ten years down the road, Bankingly has 120 clients in 20 countries who use its cloud-based solutions to provide some 4 million customers with digital services from onboarding to payment transactions and loan applications.

More importantly, by giving millions of people across Latin America and in Africa access to accounts from their smartphones, Bankingly is playing a role in significantly helping boost financial inclusion in the region. A 2023 Mastercard survey on financial inclusion in Latin America showed that 79% of adults had a bank account in 2023, as opposed to 52% in a report from 2014.

But just 40% of people outside of major cities and 59% of people from low-income households held bank accounts, according to the same study, so more still needs to be done to broaden access to those who have traditionally been excluded.

For Bankingly, joining Mastercard Start Path, the company’s award-winning startup engagement program, in October will help speed up emerging market digitalization and offers a chance to potentially acquire new clients who can reach those unbanked people, including the ability to offer credit cards to their customers for the first time.

Motivated by the opportunity to open up financial services for more underserved communities and small businesses, Naor hopes Bankingly’s growth will mean more than 5 million people are using its software within two years.

As he firmly believes, “Digital financial services can really change lives.”

Originally published by Mastercard

Follow along Mastercard’s journey to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere.

Mastercard

Most entrepreneurs dream of tapping into the kind of capital, industry connections and sophisticated software that Martin Naor has at his fingertips.

The Uruguayan entrepreneur has certainly benefitted from a full career that took him from managing products and businesses for Microsoft to sitting on company boards, investing in startups and running the Montevideo-based tech firm Infocorp.

Yet launching a new business is always a twisty road, and Naor had his share of unforeseen curves when he started his fintech Bankingly a decade ago.

Bankingly was born from a flash insight. Naor noticed that while major banks were proactively building tech solutions to drive their digital transformation, smaller institutions were struggling to migrate online.

He also understood how transformative digital banking could be for people living Latin America, where one in five adults are still unbanked and many of those who are still spend hours travelling to their bank branch.

So he created a venture to provide smaller banks and credit unions from Argentina to Mexico — and more recently, Kenya and Nigeria — with the software they need to offer digital banking services.

“Everybody wants to sell to the big boys,” says Naor, 53. “We decided the big blue ocean of opportunity was on small and medium-sized financial institutions in emerging markets.”

Rather than start from scratch, he launched Bankingly as a Infocorp spin-off so he could piggyback off the company’s products and experiences and reach the market quickly with a segment-friendly offering of low start-up costs and per-usage charges. 

What he did not foresee was the hesitancy. Back in 2015, many of the smaller banks Naor approached saw little reason to start offering online banking to their customers. They preferred relying solely on tried-and-tested traditional branch banking.

“They were less anxious to digitalize than we expected. My naïve starting point was that if I put an affordable, scalable solution in front of them, they’ll jump at it,” he admits.

He quickly realized he needed to tweak Bankingly’s business model and spend its capital wisely so he could take the time to show banks and credit unions the benefits of digitalization, plus convince regulators its cloud-based systems were secure.

Despite the slow start, financial institutions who started using Bankingly’s apps and platforms soon saw their customers were more likely to deposit their salaries, build up savings and increase their card transactions.

Ten years down the road, Bankingly has 120 clients in 20 countries who use its cloud-based solutions to provide some 4 million customers with digital services from onboarding to payment transactions and loan applications.

More importantly, by giving millions of people across Latin America and in Africa access to accounts from their smartphones, Bankingly is playing a role in significantly helping boost financial inclusion in the region. A 2023 Mastercard survey on financial inclusion in Latin America showed that 79% of adults had a bank account in 2023, as opposed to 52% in a report from 2014.

But just 40% of people outside of major cities and 59% of people from low-income households held bank accounts, according to the same study, so more still needs to be done to broaden access to those who have traditionally been excluded.

For Bankingly, joining Mastercard Start Path, the company’s award-winning startup engagement program, in October will help speed up emerging market digitalization and offers a chance to potentially acquire new clients who can reach those unbanked people, including the ability to offer credit cards to their customers for the first time.

Motivated by the opportunity to open up financial services for more underserved communities and small businesses, Naor hopes Bankingly’s growth will mean more than 5 million people are using its software within two years.

As he firmly believes, “Digital financial services can really change lives.”

Originally published by Mastercard

Follow along Mastercard’s journey to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere.

Mastercard

Most entrepreneurs dream of tapping into the kind of capital, industry connections and sophisticated software that Martin Naor has at his fingertips.

The Uruguayan entrepreneur has certainly benefitted from a full career that took him from managing products and businesses for Microsoft to sitting on company boards, investing in startups and running the Montevideo-based tech firm Infocorp.

Yet launching a new business is always a twisty road, and Naor had his share of unforeseen curves when he started his fintech Bankingly a decade ago.

Bankingly was born from a flash insight. Naor noticed that while major banks were proactively building tech solutions to drive their digital transformation, smaller institutions were struggling to migrate online.

He also understood how transformative digital banking could be for people living Latin America, where one in five adults are still unbanked and many of those who are still spend hours travelling to their bank branch.

So he created a venture to provide smaller banks and credit unions from Argentina to Mexico — and more recently, Kenya and Nigeria — with the software they need to offer digital banking services.

“Everybody wants to sell to the big boys,” says Naor, 53. “We decided the big blue ocean of opportunity was on small and medium-sized financial institutions in emerging markets.”

Rather than start from scratch, he launched Bankingly as a Infocorp spin-off so he could piggyback off the company’s products and experiences and reach the market quickly with a segment-friendly offering of low start-up costs and per-usage charges. 

What he did not foresee was the hesitancy. Back in 2015, many of the smaller banks Naor approached saw little reason to start offering online banking to their customers. They preferred relying solely on tried-and-tested traditional branch banking.

“They were less anxious to digitalize than we expected. My naïve starting point was that if I put an affordable, scalable solution in front of them, they’ll jump at it,” he admits.

He quickly realized he needed to tweak Bankingly’s business model and spend its capital wisely so he could take the time to show banks and credit unions the benefits of digitalization, plus convince regulators its cloud-based systems were secure.

Despite the slow start, financial institutions who started using Bankingly’s apps and platforms soon saw their customers were more likely to deposit their salaries, build up savings and increase their card transactions.

Ten years down the road, Bankingly has 120 clients in 20 countries who use its cloud-based solutions to provide some 4 million customers with digital services from onboarding to payment transactions and loan applications.

More importantly, by giving millions of people across Latin America and in Africa access to accounts from their smartphones, Bankingly is playing a role in significantly helping boost financial inclusion in the region. A 2023 Mastercard survey on financial inclusion in Latin America showed that 79% of adults had a bank account in 2023, as opposed to 52% in a report from 2014.

But just 40% of people outside of major cities and 59% of people from low-income households held bank accounts, according to the same study, so more still needs to be done to broaden access to those who have traditionally been excluded.

For Bankingly, joining Mastercard Start Path, the company’s award-winning startup engagement program, in October will help speed up emerging market digitalization and offers a chance to potentially acquire new clients who can reach those unbanked people, including the ability to offer credit cards to their customers for the first time.

Motivated by the opportunity to open up financial services for more underserved communities and small businesses, Naor hopes Bankingly’s growth will mean more than 5 million people are using its software within two years.

As he firmly believes, “Digital financial services can really change lives.”

Originally published by Mastercard

Follow along Mastercard’s journey to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere.

Written by Kimberly Bishop | Corporate Responsibility

Gen Blog | Community

On the second Tuesday of every February, more than 100 countries around the world come together to celebrate Safer Internet Day. This global day of awareness aims to empower everyone to use technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively, especially children and young people.

At Gen, Cyber Safety is our focus all year long. Over the past few years, we’ve developed new tools and platforms that address the most common issues that young people face online, from scams to cyberbullying to protecting personal information. We continue to partner with leading nonprofit organizations around the world to provide children, young people and their families with the resources they need to navigate life online with confidence and care.

Empowering Kids and Families to Have The Smart Talk

Norton, one of our trusted Cyber Safety brands, partners with National PTA to offer The Smart Talk, a free resource that helps families have ongoing conversations about how to use the internet responsibly. The platform has grown to more than 12,000 users since launch, and Norton continues to provide technical support, keeping The Smart Talk up to date with the most current information about Cyber Safety best practices. In addition to offering this tool for free online, Norton makes possible grants to local PTAs to host live PTA Connected: The Smart Talk workshops with parents, children and educators.

“The Smart Talk [helped bring] awareness to our families that healthily social media and internet safety is more than just a password,” said one grantee. “This program opened heartfelt, honest conversations and set plans in place to protect one another in an increasingly cyber world.”

Helping Young People Build Digital Skills

Norton also partners with Discovery Education, a global leader in education technology, on My Digital Life, a multi-language platform dedicated to enhancing Cyber Safety for children in grades 3-8. The platform contains lesson plans, videos and interactive tools for teachers, students and parents that outline the best ways students can avoid viruses, detect misinformation, protect their privacy and more. My Digital Life expanded into schools across the U.K. in 2024, bringing its total reach to more than 264,000 students globally. The free website is now translated into Spanish and Arabic with French and German being added later this year. Learn more about this partnership here.

In India, Norton works with Bal Raksha Bharat (BRB), also known as Save the Children – India, to train schoolteachers on how to instill strong digital habits in their students. Over the past year, the program reached more than 10,000 students, parents and educators across 40 schools in Pune, Maharashtra and Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, with tailored lessons for students aged 10-12 and 13-16. Since the program launched in 2021, more than 27,600 children have taken online safety classes, while 1,800 teachers and more than 4,600 parents have also received online safety orientation.

Additionally, we recognize that not all young people experience the internet in the same way. For example, young women face a unique set of challenges when navigating life online, and we believe they should have resources that address these needs.

That’s why we partner with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) to offer Surf Smart 2.0, a unique badge-earning program that gives girls and young women aged 5-25 the basics of Cyber Safety and responsible digital decision-making. Between April 2023 and April 2024, WAGGGS estimates that this partnership has reached more than 42,000 girls and young women, including more than 17,800 who earned the Surf Smart 2.0 badge. In total, since its inception, Surf Smart has empowered over 850,000 young people in over 100 countries, providing them with vital tools to help protect themselves online.

We also support The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people, who have experienced an increased need for the organization’s services in recent months. We provide ongoing support to The Trevor Project’s affirming online community for LGBTQ+ young people. We also co-developed the organization’s Guide to Online Safety for LGBTQ+ Young People, a free digital resource to help queer young people navigate the digital world. The guide was mentioned in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention as an example of “What Success Looks Like” in specialty resources for particular communities. 

We hope this year’s Safer Internet Day continues to inspire a better internet for all. These grants were awarded from the Gen Foundation, a corporate advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. For more on our Cyber Safety education and training efforts, visit our latest Social Impact Report.

CNH brand, CASE Construction Equipment, is returning to Bauma, the world’s leading trade fair for construction equipment machinery, taking place from April 7-13 in Munich, Germany. As a finalist in both the Digital and the Mechanical Engineering categories of the Bauma Innovation Awards, the company will present a wide range of advanced solutions, with a focus on alternative fuels, automation and connectivity. CASE will demonstrate its comprehensive range of equipment, designed to meet the evolving needs of operators and fleet managers across Europe.

“The ‘Let’s Drive the Future’ concept embodies CASE’s commitment to addressing the challenges our customers face in a sector impacted by new regulations and by a shortage of skilled operators,” said Fabrizio Cepollina, Head of CNH CE EMEA. “Our goal is to offer solutions that integrate new fuel technologies and automation to enhance productivity and efficiency.”

CASE’s extensive stand at Bauma will focus on new wheel loaders, mini excavators, backhoe loaders, crawler excavators and an expanding offer of electric models. These machines, designed for applications ranging from urban construction to waste management, quarrying, and road construction, are engineered to deliver operational efficiency, minimised operating costs and reduced environmental impact—all in line with rapidly changing market demands. In addition, CASE will showcase two customised machines, examples of its new Special Application Division that is housed within the Sampierana R&D Department.

The CASE Smart Loader Assist AI Technology is a finalist in the Digital category of the Bauma Innovation Awards, while the Impact remote-controlled electric loader is a finalist in the Mechanical Engineering category.

Zero emission electric models will be central to the CASE display at Bauma. Electric machines provide environmentally responsible solutions with numerous advantages, including lower energy consumption, quieter operation and reduced maintenance costs.

The CASE stand at Bauma 2025 invites all visitors to explore the brand’s vision for a sustainable, automated construction job site of the future.

Click here to read more.

With the Los Angeles area having suffered catastrophic damage from the recent wildfires, AEG’s Los Angeles Kings teamed up with the National Hockey League (NHL) to host a special benefit hockey game, Skate For LA Strong, “A Celebration to Support the Fire Recovery Efforts in Los Angeles.” The event aimed to raise proceeds for the LA Fire Relief Fund and provide support for those impacted by the fires.

Held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA, Skate For LA Strong brought together celebrities, professional athletes, musicians, local first responders, and—most importantly—fire victims and their families. The exhibition game featured four teams competing in a single elimination format, with each team’s roster including a mix of celebrities, former NHL greats, and first responders from the Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, and Los Angeles Police Department.

Headlining the player participants were stars like Justin Bieber and Steve Carell, alongside Hockey Hall of Fame members Rob Blake, Cammi Granato, Mark Messier, and Jeremy Roenick. Celebrity coaches, including Danny DeVito, Snoop Dogg, Will Ferrell, Al Michaels, Cobie Smulders, Hannah Stocking, Vince Vaughn, and Andrew Whitworth, added to the excitement. A complete list of participants and attendees can be found here.

For many attendees, the night was a rare opportunity to take a break from the overwhelming reality of loss and recovery, instead immersing themselves in a lively and uplifting atmosphere. Skate For LA Strong highlighted the power of sports and entertainment in bringing communities together, offering comfort, and fostering resilience in times of hardship.

The event also featured musical performances by producer and Kaskade, singer/songwriter Jordan Davis and singer Lauren Spencer Smith.

Originally published by Northwestern Mutual on February 11, 2025

MILWAUKEE, February 25, 2025 /3BL/ – 14 Northwestern Mutual advisors were recognized on the prestigious Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-in-State list for 2025. Advisors who earn a spot on Forbes‘ annual list stand out for delivering an exceptional experience, superior outcomes, and greater financial security for their clients.

“These elite advisors represent the pinnacle of our industry, showcasing how better conversations and revealing blind spots can lead to greater financial security and success,” said John Roberts, chief field officer at Northwestern Mutual. “Through comprehensive planning combining risk protection and wealth management, each of these honorees and their teams continue to deliver outstanding results for clients while empowering more Americans to worry less, live more, and seize their financial future.”

Northwestern Mutual is focused on fostering an environment that supports the growth of all its financial advisors and continues to earn acclaim for that commitment. It was named one of Forbes‘ Best Employers for Diversity and a Top 50 “Best of the Best” Corporation for Inclusion. These accolades, along with the 14 advisors listed on Forbes‘ latest Best-in-State ranking, exemplify Northwestern Mutual’s commitment to advancing women and diversity in the financial services industry.

Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-in-State recognition showcases the top professionals in the industry, representing experts across the nation by state. Conducted by SHOOK Research, advisors are selected following a careful vetting process based upon qualitative and quantitative data, interviews, service models, investing models, the application of best practices, and other criteria.

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 165 years. Through a comprehensive planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what’s most important. With over $627 billion of total assets1 being managed across the company’s institutional portfolio as well as retail investment client portfolios, more than $36 billion in revenues, and $2.3 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than five million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. Northwestern Mutual ranked 110 on the 2024 FORTUNE® 500 and was recognized by FORTUNE as one of the “World’s Most Admired” life insurance companies in 2025.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (investment brokerage services), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company® (NMWMC) (investment advisory and services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

Northwestern Mutual continues to have the highest financial strength ratings awarded to any U.S. life insurer by all four of the major rating agencies: A.M. Best Company, A++ (highest), October 2024; Fitch Ratings, AAA (highest), December 2024; Moody’s Investors Service, Aaa (highest), August 2024; S&P Global Ratings, AA+ (second highest), April 2024. Third-party ratings are subject to change and are a measure of the company’s relative financial strength and security but are not a reflection of the performance or stability of funds invested in a company’s separate accounts. Ratings are for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company. The dividend scale and the underlying dividend interest rates are reviewed annually and are subject to change. Future dividends are not guaranteed, although Northwestern Mutual has paid a dividend every year since 1872.

1Includes investments and separate account assets of Northwestern Mutual as well as retail investment client assets held or managed by Northwestern Mutual.

*Forbes “Top Women Wealth Advisors” & Top Women Wealth Advisors Best in State, [February 11, 2025]. Research and ranking developed by SHOOK Research, LLC. Based upon data as of 9/30/2024. Northwestern Mutual and its advisors do not pay for placement on 3rd party rating lists, but do pay marketing fees to these organizations to promote the rating(s). Rankings and recognitions are no guarantee of future investment success.

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

1-800-323-7033, mediarelations@northwesternmutual.com